The
resting place of heroesBy
COURTNEY DENTCHCourtesy
of The Intelligencer20
June 2005

A 21-gun
salute shatters the solemn silence hanging over acres of sprawling green,
dotted with small white gravestones. Marines, in crisp navy dress uniforms,
reverently fold an American flag into the familiar triangle and present
it to a grieving family. A bugler sounds the mournful notes of taps.

Most
Americans know what these images mean - fallen military heroes being laid
to rest at Arlington National Cemetery amid the full honors due them. But
few know what it's like to bury one of their own there.

"It's
just incredible," said Buckingham resident Mike Phelan. His brother, Army
Lieutenant Colonel Mark P. Phelan, was buried
at Arlington last year. "They march you through that beautiful scenery
and everyone stops and salutes. It makes you so proud to see it."

Members
of a Sellersville family will learn that today, as they bid farewell to
Marine Lance Corporal Bob Mininger. The 21-year-old
Pennridge High School alumnus was killed in Iraq June 6 when a roadside
bomb exploded near his Humvee outside Fallujah. He had been deployed since
January and was on patrol searching for weapons when the explosive detonated,
his family said. He will be buried at Arlington at 11 a.m. today.

"This
will be a total military function," said Mininger's father, Tom. "It will
be interesting to see how they honor their own. It will be a tremendous
experience to go through down there."

The
cemetery was established in 1864, after the federal government confiscated
the land from Mary Anna Custis Lee, wife of Civil War General Robert E.
Lee and daughter of George Washington Parke Custis,
who built the Arlington House mansion on the 1,100-acre estate. The property
was put up for public sale and was purchased by a tax commissioner for
"government use, for war, military, charitable and educational purposes,"
according to historical information on the Arlington Web site.

Later
that year, Brigadier General Montgomery C. Meigs,
who commanded the garrison at Arlington House, appropriated the grounds
for use as a military cemetery.

Four
years later, Lee's son, George Washington Custis Lee, sued the federal
government saying the property was illegally confiscated without due process.
The Supreme Court agreed and the land was returned to him in 1882. A year
later, Congress bought the property for $150,000.

Since
then, more than 250,000 servicemen and women have been laid to rest there.
On average, there are 27 services a day, said Lori Calvillo, public affairs
officer for the cemetery. Active members of the Armed Forces are eligible
to be buried at Arlington, as are most veterans and reservists who were
honorably discharged from service. Civilian spouses and minor children
may also be buried at Arlington, Calvillo said.

About
10 percent of the casualties from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation
Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan have been buried at Arlington, Calvillo
said. More than 1,700 U.S. military personnel have been killed in Iraq
since the conflict began in 2003 and 190 troops were killed in Afghanistan
since 2001, according to the Department of Defense.

The
waiting list to secure a burial date at Arlington can take months, but
active duty casualties are given preference, Calvillo said.

"For
interment services with full honors, it could take several months," she
said. "But we give priority to personnel from Iraq and Afghanistan. We
try to do it within a week or so."

Two
other servicemen from the area who were killed in Iraq were buried at Arlington
National Cemetery. Marine Corporal Patrick
Nixon, 21, of Northampton, was killed in 2003 in a battle at An Nasariah.
And Phelan, 44, of Green Lane, was killed October 13, 2004, in Mosul when
a bomb exploded near his convoy vehicle.

"That
was his wish," Mike Phelan said. "It was just awesome to see my brother
honored that way."

The
ceremonies are strictly military affairs, and a number of different honors
are bestowed on those who are eligible. The standard service includes pallbearers
to escort the casket, a firing party to sound the salute and a bugler to
play taps. With full honors comes an escort platoon, which varies in size
according to the rank of the deceased, a color guard, a military band and
the traditional burial flag, which is presented to the family with the
gratitude of the president, the nation and the armed forces.

The
3rd U.S. Infantry, or "The Old Guard," as it
is better know, oversees much of the pomp for the military services, participating
in an average of 16 a day, or 6,000 a year. The soldiers also maintain
a 24-hour vigil at the Tomb of the Unknowns
at Arlington National Cemetery.

While
some cemeteries have run into space constraints, Arlington has a master
plan to acquire more land, Calvillo said.

"We
have enough land to continue the burials on a daily basis through 2060,"
she said. "We don't see a time when Arlington will be closed to burials."